Continuing Prescribed Fire activity planned on the Black Mesa Ranger District
Firefighters plan to continue prescribed fire operations on the Black Mesa Ranger District of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests beginning October 8 through December 31, 2024, as weather and vegetation conditions allow for successful operations.
The Rimtop project area is 1,286 acres and is 9 miles west of the community of Forest Lakes. The project area is bounded by Forest Roads 195, 105, 9350, and constructed control lines. Trails around Woods Canyon Lake will also be used as a control line.
The Sinkhole project area is 875 acres and is 4 miles west on Forest Road 51 from the community of Forest Lakes. The project area is bounded by Forest Roads 235, 9503C, and Highway 260. Willow Springs Lake will also be used as a control line.
The Brookbank project area is 1,758 acres and is approximately 1 mile east of Forest Lakes. The project is bounded by Forest Roads 122, 174, and Highway 260.
The Hidden 2 project area is 348 acres and is approximately 2 miles west of the community of Forest Lakes along and north of Highway 260. This is the continuation of the Hidden timber stand improvement/fuels reduction treatment in the area.
The objective is to reduce hazardous fuel accumulations, minimize the risk of high-severity wildfires, and return the landscape to a more fire-resistant condition, aligning with the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The Forest Service's 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy, which aims to reduce wildfire risk to people, communities, and natural resources while sustaining and restoring healthy, resilient fire-adapted forests.
Smoke is expected to be visible from the communities of Forest Lakes and Heber-Overgaard, and Highway 260. We recognize that smoke can impact residents, visitors, and our fire personnel. We will continue to coordinate closely with our partners and communities to minimize smoke impacts as much as possible. All prescribed fires on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests are subject to Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The department’s Air Quality Division: Smoke Management webpage provides details about its air quality program. When smoke impacts are present, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality recommends that smoke sensitive individuals should reduce physical activity and stay indoors with windows and doors closed. For those who are unable to avoid smoke exposure, use of a particulate-filtering respirator mask can help. Real-time mapping of smoke and other air quality impacts is available at fire.airnow.gov.
Visit the A-S National Forests website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/asnf and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs.
